It’s Thursday, January 22. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Are microplastics really bad for you? A crash course on the First Amendment in Minneapolis. The unlikeliest hero of the American Revolution. And much more.
But first: Is the world order coming apart at the seams?
If one speech summed up the mood among the elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, it was the one Canadian prime minister Mark Carney gave a day before Donald Trump showed up, amid the sturm und drang about Greenland.
Carney warned of a “rupture in the world order, the end of a pleasant fiction and the beginning of a harsh reality, where geopolitics, where the large, main power, geopolitics, is submitted to no limits, no constraints.”
For ringing the alarm, Carney received a standing ovation. And he echoed the prevailing view at the conference: that globalization—and the rules and institutions that came with it—is in retreat.
Not so fast, says our columnist Tyler Cowen today. He says that while the politicians at Davos might have their own reasons to argue otherwise, the world is still globalizing—and more quickly than you might think. Read his dissent from the prevailing view in the Swiss Alps:
What about the speech by the man who appears to be driving so many of these trends? Wednesday was a good day for subscribers to the TACO view of the world: Trump Always Chickens Out. The president lowered the temperature in Davos, first ruling out taking Greenland by force in his speech (that it even needs to be said is remarkable), then withdrawing his threat of punitive tariffs against European countries. For the latest on Trump’s speech, Greenland, and everything else from an extraordinary week, catch our latest livestream. Niall Ferguson in Davos spoke to Rafaela Siewert about a world order in the balance, why Trump thinks we need Greenland, and more:
And, for more on Greenland, tune in to the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman. His guest this week is Heather A. Conley, an authority on Europe, NATO, and Arctic security. He asks how Greenland became one of the most strategically important places on Earth—and how this will change our future. Hit the play button below to listen to their conversation, or catch it wherever you get your podcasts.
In 2025, a shocking study concluded that plastic shards made up 0.48 percent of the brain—enough to make a plastic spoon. The finding went viral, and helped fuel a panic about the dangers of microplastics. But now that study has been debunked. So what does science really say about the health effects of these tiny particles? Faye Flam separates fact from fiction on America’s hottest toxin.
In the two weeks since the killing of Renee Good, and with Minneapolis the site of the largest ICE operation in the agency’s history, the Twin Cities have given the country a crash course in the First Amendment, argues FIRE president Greg Lukianoff. Read his essay on what incitement is (and isn’t), when protesters and police crossed the line, and what Don Lemon doesn’t understand about the First Amendment.
Self-taught, overweight, and missing two fingers. That doesn’t exactly sound like the story of an elite soldier. Still, Henry Knox overcame it all to become a formidable artillery commander and an essential part of America’s birth. In the latest installment of his newsletter celebrating this week in American history, Jonathan Horn remembers “Opportunity Knox,” the American Revolution’s greatest underdog.
To receive Jonathan’s newsletter straight to your inbox every week, sign up here.
On Old School: Joseph Luzzi on the Most Famous, Least-Read Poet
While many have heard of Dante’s Inferno, few know that his masterpiece really contains three parts, forming a trilogy that charts the journey from despair to redemption. For literature professor Joseph Luzzi, this is a story he knows all too well: After his wife was tragically killed in a car accident while eight months’ pregnant, leaving him widowed and a father on the same day, Dante’s Divine Comedy helped him overcome his grief and build a new life. Listen to his conversation with Shilo Brooks wherever you get your podcasts, or by clicking the play button below.
A new winter storm is set to sweep across the South this weekend, threatening heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures. The extreme weather could be a “potentially catastrophic event from Texas to the Carolinas,” warned Ryan Maue, the former chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A police officer in Uvalde, Texas, has been found not guilty of child endangerment, more than three years after 21 people were killed in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary.
Federal immigration officers are asserting a sweeping power to enter American homes without a judge’s warrant. The policy, outlined in an internal ICE document, is a significant change to previous guidance and raises significant concerns about violating the Fourth Amendment.
The House Oversight Committee recommended that the Clintons be held in contempt on Wednesday. The announcement came after Bill and Hillary declined to appear before the congressional body for a hearing on the Epstein files.
The United States captured another Caribbean oil tanker with ties to Venezuela on Tuesday morning. The move marks the seventh seizure of a vessel for allegedly defying President Trump’s sanctions in the region.
In a new court filing, the Trump administration disclosed that a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee shared confidential Social Security data without the agency’s knowledge. The document alleges that the employee leaked the data to a political advocacy group aiming to overturn election results in certain states.
Minnesota Republican Michele Tafoya announced her bid for the Senate on Wednesday. Tafoya began her career as an NFL sideline reporter before becoming a conservative political commentator. “As Minnesota’s senator, I will clean up the system, fighting corruption, ending the fraud, and protecting your tax dollars,” Tafoya said.
Prince Harry of England took the stand in a privacy case against the Daily Mail’s publisher on Wednesday. Harry is one of seven public figures who are plaintiffs in this case, including musician Elton John and actress Elizabeth Hurley.
"Is this the End of the Pax Americana?"
by Niall Ferguson
We Can Only Hope So!
While the Supremes consider the question that made Justice Ketanji famous ( what is a woman), there is another important question that has significant implications but will never merit a legal case: what is citizenship? And does it matter? I raise this since today's TFP has a primary focus on Davos and globalism.
How often do we hear people proclaim they ate global citizens or citizens of the world. Why do they do so? Are we not all citizens of the nations in which we are born ( or in which our parents are citizens). One can of course become a citizen of another nation by complying with whatever that nation requires to obtain citizenship. As a citizen one presumably is subject to the laws of that country and enjoys the rights granted to that country's citizens ( assuming the country believes in individual rights of course).
But what are the rights and obligations of the global citizen? There's no rule book. No constitution.
I believe these questions are very relevant especially today when the subject of mass migration is omnipresent. Do we need borders in a world in which global citizenship is deemed by many to be the ultimate goal ( as we strive to become planet Star Trek) ? What are the goals and objectives of the Globalists who seek more power? Is this a bit of a zero sum game for the US, ie, the US must have less power ( and wealth) to realize the utopian vision?
I will end with the question i pose often to friends and relatives: FIRST AND FOREMOST, do you consider yourself a citizen of the US or a citizen of the world? The first and foremost phraseology is important because it goes to the heart on one's ideology and beliefs.